Daily Nuts

In 2012 when I rejoined Microsoft my intent was to work. Just work. I needed the rhythm back in my life of getting up, going to the office, putting in a solid day, and then going home. No ego, nothing petty, no politics, not getting caught up in other's perceptions. For the most part I was able to do this.

There was this one petty thing.

I was having a one on one with my new manager in her office and I noticed she had tea and a small plate of fresh fruit. It would be delivered every morning and refreshed in the afternoon by the floor's "tea lady". The tea and fruit treatment were reserved for those with some "position", not for the everyday person like me. I thought it must be nice to have that position and be taken care of like that even if I'm not really a tea or fruit person. Then I would put the thought out of my head. Until the next one on one.

A few years back I reached the same position my manager in 2012 had but there was no tea and fruit delivered to my office. Maybe I could ask for it but I am not one to ask for anything. It would be petty to ask for it. And it is petty to not ask for anything. Yet hear we are.

In the pantry at work there are soft drinks, tea, coffee, and snacks. The snacks are pretty miserable, and I mostly avoid them even on cheat days. Except for the "daily nuts" pack. The daily nuts are in high demand, short supply compared with the other snacks and when the tea lady puts the daily nuts out, they disappear quickly. I would always keep one eye on the pantry as I walked past and detour in if I saw the nuts. Overtime, the tea lady noticed my behavior and the daily nuts stopped appearing at all in the pantry. But that is not how this story ends.

When I get to work in the morning I go to the panty to fill up my coffee cup and my water glass. As I do this the tea lady goes into the back, grabs two packages of daily nuts, looks side to side, and hands them to me like it's the crime of the century. I never needed to ask.

I still notice fruit and tea in other managers offices but I'm not being petty. Not really. I'm happy with my nuts.